A New Beginning
by rocketgod123
Summary: Inheritance Cycle Book 5 - Eragon is setting up the riders new home, but not everything seems normal. Can they defeat a new coming threat to the riders, and will Eragon set up the riders successfully? My version of a fifth book, with twists, new riders and a rising darkness. AryaxEragon Read, enjoy and review :)
1. Breoal Shur'tugal

**Hey guys! I'm back with a new fic! This time, though, its an ****Eragon fic. I really enjoyed the Inheritance Cycle, so I decided to make a fifth book for it, but as part of a different series. So, I really hope you enjoy this new fic. So yeh, read, enjoy and REVIEW**

_**P.s, there is a glossary at the bottom.** _

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**Nyr Fyrstr**

Breoal Shur'tugal

Eragon stood steady at the prow of the ship, staring into the starry night sky. Wind whipped his short hair back as he gazed into the dying sun, sorrow filling his heart. It was only twenty four days after he had departed from Alagaesia forever, yet already he missed everything about it, in particular, Arya, the love of his life.

_"Eragon, focus."_

_"I know Saphira... But..."_

_"Don't worry. Worry for the future of the riders. For a new home. Focus on what must be done."_

Eragon mentally nodded and his restless mind took him to new thoughts of his preoccupations. He and Saphira had wasted away hours, scouting ahead and looking at the different islands, but to no avail.

The glowing terracotta disc slid below the horizon and the world was eerily plunged into a deafening silence, accompanied by an inky black pall.

***Two weeks later***

Mounted on Saphiras back, Eragon scanned his surroundings as they dodged the trees and wove a path through the forest ahead. They were scouting ahead, looking for danger and for possible islands or areas to reset up. Saphira rose high into sky and passed by the forest into a grassy plain, observing the scenes below for a couple of minutes.

_"I can't see an edge, can you?"_

_"I cannot. It seems we have hit the mainland."_ Saphira replied.

The lush trees were highly visible with Saphiras eagle eyes. Ravines ran deep through cliff faces and strange animals lurked in this new world. Rivers gushed around and strange life forms seemed to lurk in these areas.

_"Can we get lower?"_

_"Why? I am not hungry."_

_"What?"_ Eragon smirked in mock surprise. He carried on sombrely_ "I want to find out about this place. It's weird... Doesn't feel right."_

_"I know."_ Saphira dived low and Eragon felt like whooping for joy in this new found freedom. He noted the size of the wildebeest and deer, which were at least his height if not more. The trees were bent at angles, and were deprived of all leaves. They were threadbare, like needles.

Eragon felt a presence enter his mind, and he opened his mind accordingly. _"What do you see Shadeslayer? You have been gone nigh three hours."_ Blodhgarm entered his mind cautiously.

_"We have hit the mainland. Prepare to travel in land. We should find something in here, but it doesn't feel right. There is a thick river which we have followed. You should continue through that. Judge it for yourself. But I have a feeling we will be setting up soon, but further on, past these gloomy lands."_ Eragon said.

Eragon sensed joy in the reply, _"As you say, Shadeslayer."_

_"Beware the Nidhwals my furry two leg."_ Saphira added.

_"And you the winds of the foreign sky, Brightscales."_

Eragon felt the presence leave his mind.

They carried on silently for ten minutes before Saphira spoke, _"It is time to go back, child."_

Eragon agreed silently and Saphira gracefully turned, rose and flew back, flying with ease.

"Saern-Elda how should we reconstruct a fortress?" Eragon asked.

"Ah, Firesword, I see. It will not be easy, I grant you that, but our Nyr Begnä will be fine. It will not be simple. I suggest a mixture of caverns, tunnels, tree houses, the like of which you lived in during your training, and a central castle. Blodhgarm, I, the other elves and Saphira will help you."

Blodhgarm, nodded. "That, I will. But it will not be easy, and may take a few years. We must choose our location carefully."

Eragon bowed in return and returned to the prow in thought. He let go of the worries of setting up, he was sure it would come together somehow. He wondered how he could contact Arya. He had tried using a mirror ever since he'd left, but to no avail. He seeked a different company to Nasuada or Saphira. He pulled out his mirror, and for the thousandth time tried again.

Suddenly a face appeared and Eragon nearly dropped the mirror! ARYA! She hadn't picked up her mirror for three weeks and now here she was.

"Arya?" Eragon said, reigning in his excitement!

She smiled brightly, "Eragon!"

He looked at her beautiful face, rosy lips, high cheekbones and beautiful hair. "How are you?"

"Busy," she said, and as the smile wore off he noted the exhaustion over her face, the bags under her eyes, "it's not easy being queen of the elves. They are a stubborn race. And everything is filled with ridiculous etiquette and stuff I care little for. How are you? Have you found any place of interest?"

Eragon laughed, "no. But I feel that we are near. I estimate that we will be about a weeks flight away from the edges of Alagaesia. We have hit mainland now and soon enough we will find land for our dragons."

"Brilliant! Will I be able to come and see you?" She blushed.

"Of course. We might need your help in setting up." He paused. "Besides, you need a break from the court of the elves. You and Firnen can freshen up."

Arya glanced behind her and Eragon realised that she was being interrupted.

"Is it a good time?" Eragon asked.

"Not great, but carry on. The head of the riders comes before any of my duties." She fake bowed and giggled.

Eragon laughed. "Why thank you, your highness," he mocked in a posh voice, "but if I were you I'd beware of the fanghur infestation. They're everywhere, Saphira and I have met far too many." They paused, looking at one another longingly. "Have any of the eggs hatched?"

Arya looked crestfallen. "Not yet. We're about to finish our rounds of the elves and humans. The elves have hatched none. Nor the humans. The urgals and dwarves are yet to be offered the opportunity. They will come later, by we need some eggs to hatch soon. Without you, people are becoming restless. They believe that the riders aren't real. That there are none. That we lied about the new generation." She grimaced.

"Ah. Well maybe I should come back and make sure they know what Saphira and I are still alive?"

"Maybe." Silence fell over them. "I'm afraid I must go. My advisors worry about me, you know. I am off on a small adventure soon, I won't be able to contact you. Goodbye, Eragon."

Eragon waved and, spiked with courage, exclaimed, "I love you, Arya drottnïng."

She looked into his eyes, but said nothing.

Finally she said, "And you."

At this, the mirror cut off. Eragon's heart leapt high in joy!

"Blodhgarm! Blodhgarm! We have found the place!" Eragon yelled. He relayed this message in a mental shout. As he waited he noticed the narrowing of the river. It had started to become difficult to traverse, and they were lucky to be able to stop now before endangering their ship and their cargo.

Finally a response came. _"I hear you, Shadeslayer. Come below deck. We must discuss our plans. Saern-elda will be with us, and we can plan our building. Contact the others, as Arya and Murtagh must come in order to set up, within the next two weeks. I will discuss more with you and Saern-elda later."_

_"Thank you, Blodhgarm!"_ Eragon shouted, in excitement of the forecoming events. He may be responsible for the riders of Alagaesia, but even Eragon couldn't hold back his delight at this news! Who should he contact? Saphira of course, but he had already relayed the conversation to her. Nasuada? He supposed he should, but out of formality more than excitement. Arya? But she was busy. He supposed there was no one, but even this could not dampen his spirits.

He wasn't stupid, he knew that after Murtagh and Arya came, along with numerous other guests, including Firnen and Thorn, it would be his turn to parade Alagaesia once more. Blodhgarm, Saern, Tarlea and the other elves had discussed this with him, and they had come to the conclusion that as they set up, all the riders and leaders should be present. Not only this, but they would help for a week to start the process, and then they would all travel back, except the elves, to Alagaesia to announce this and to show off the new riders.

Eragon's whirling mind came to a sudden standstill. They didn't even have any new riders! What if they had none on their parade of the nations? Surely it would endanger the already fragile peace. As Eragon's mind chewed this over, the boat came to a standstill. They had anchored for the night. Eragon decided to contact Nasuada on the next day. For now, he should visit Saern and Blodhgarm. His mind descended into thought.

As he climbed down the stairs, lost in thought, he caught Saphira's mind.

_"Saphira?"_

_"Young one."_

_"Should we do this?"_ He mixed fear into his words, but he knew it was really anxiety. The thought of setting up permanently outside of Alagaesia was terrifying.

_"You know the answer."_ She reassured him, _"now go and talk to Blodhgarm and Saern-Elda."_

Eragon reached the beautifully gilded door. He admired it before he opened it and slowly turned the handle. He looked in to a room filled with a long table, and had numerous chairs along its length. In its centre three candles were lit, emitting a soft glow on the room. Surrounding the room were bookshelves of books, old or new, dusty or glowing with life. He noticed a couple open on the table in front of Tarlea, the female elf who sat next to Blodhgarm. On the other side of the table, sat Saern, an old elf who, Eragon estimated, had accumulated over 650 years of knowledge and experience. The only elf he knew who was older was Rhunon-elda, who had been one of the eldest elves alive, although she was still skilful. They had all taken a seat on the far end of the table, and as Eragon drew nearer, their low muttering ceased.

"Ah, Shadeslayer. You are here." Blodhgarm swiftly moved to his feet like a cat. "Please do take a seat. We were just discussing good ideas for a settlement area. We have drawn up a number of ideas." He smiled and gestured to a long piece of parchment next to Tarlea.

"Good. Well, you can show me, I'm sure they are good but I feel we must decide. Soon enough it will be time to set up and we must give our location to the others for their arrival. Furthermore, you know as well as I do that we need to plan our set up. We cannot risk the demise of the new rider home." Eragon replied. He watched as Tarlea drew out the parchment and then she passed them to him, across the table.

"Here, Eragon. These are some of the necessities we had drawn up for the settlement. We felt that it would be a good idea to set up at the base of a mountain. It would provide us with shelter, a height advantage all around, and a decent amount of trees to sing to, yet enough rock to form big buildings, and would provide a good area for the dragons. Also there should be caves there, decent for storage areas, for shelter and good for us to stay in during the early stages of the building of the Riders home."

"Precisely, although surely we will need a water supply, but I guess that's what this rivers for." She nodded. "Do we have any locations yet?" He finished.

Saern answered this question. "Ah, king killer, that is why we need you. You looked across the country, so you would know if we have found any ideal locations."

"Saern-Elda, Saphira and I have searched the surroundings, and we have one suggestion for such a place. It's is a craggy hill, and has a waterfall. If we set up on one of the plateaus further up there is everything that we have need of." He studied Tarlea's face as she considered this. Even in the dim light, one could see that she was very pretty, with high cheek bones, a pale face and delicate, chocolate brown hair. Her eyes were a strange yellow colour, and even in this small light, her Amber eyes looked mysterious, there was something lurking in them. She had been part of Islazandi's inner circle, and was a great warrior, one of the best of the elf Kingdom. Since they had departed, he had either sparred with her or Blodhgarm. Blodhgarm was a far better dueller, as his mind was extremely strong, but Eragon could overcome it after an hour or two. However against Tarlea, he still had not won the majority of the spars. She was vastly agile and had a deceptive power between her hands.

"I must say it does sound good, but i wonder how far it is from this river?" She looked at him inquisitively.

"Saphira will know." He said simply.

And so he searched and quickly found her, as she feasted on a large antelope. "_Saphira!"_

_"Eragon?"_

_"I need your help. How far would you say that craggy rock was from the ship." He felt her consider it and then change her mind. Finally she answered him._

_"Just under six leagues from here. Perhaps an hours ride."_

_"And by boat?"_

_"Half a day I would guess."_

_"Do you think it's a good idea?"_

_"It's the best we have."_ She answered, ripping another piece of the antelope off and chewing on it. He shrugged and withdrew from her.

All three of the elves were looking at him.

"She says it is an hours ride from here, perhaps, due to the meandering of the river, a half day boat trip. The river runs by the crags, so that is no problem."

They nodded and Tarlea elegantly scribed something onto her paper. The ink was purple, a strange colour to see in place of black. Saern continued the discussion, his croaky voice shattering the silence.

"Well, now that is settled, we must discuss the matter of what we will do when we will arrive there. Eragon, let us imagine the place, let us feel and see it, and then we will know whether it will become Breoal Shur'tugal. Then we will know what to do with Breoal Shur'tugal-"

"-The dragon-rider home." Eragon mumbled, "I like it."

Eragon shared the age with the surrounding minds, and as he did, he looked around it mentally for how to set up. By the river a few gatherings of trees stood, working there way up the hill. He sent them a zoomed in version of the mental image, highlighting a possible plateau they could use, one with a small wood on it, which allowed the river to flow directly through it. They shared their pleasure of the idea. It was an ideal area.

Eragon received images of a central tower surrounded by sung trees, and noticed a network of tunnels that Saern had highlighted as he opened the image to all their minds.

Over the course of an hour, they edited, changed and decided on the plan for the new Breoal Shur'tugal, or home of the dragon riders. They finally reached a decision. They had even drawn up plans of how and when they would make it, and what would be done first, and what was to be done last. Eragon was pleased, it had turned out better than was expected. When fully completed, they estimated about 2 years from the present, as long as nothing went wrong, it should hold up to 20 dragons and their riders. There was also plenty of food for the dragons, with an infestation of Fanghur all around, and endless supplies of deer and other giant beasts. Their first task, in fact, would to kill all the fanghur in the area, and clean it up, ready for building.

For the first time in weeks, Eragon had something to look forward to. He had an inspiration, something to work towards. Anxiety was driven from his mind as he walked out and towards his cabin. He opened the door and undressed, getting ready for bed. As he got lay down he transferred almost all his energy into the sapphire in his pommel. He fell asleep, buzzing, ready for the coming meeting.

***Two weeks later***

He loaded every single pack onto Saphira's back that would it and finally he climbed into his position on her back. They were unloading most their cargo into the now de-fanghured, and sung tree settlement. The had sung three or four trees and had wiped out most the fanghur infestation. Most the cargo, however, was going into the underground cavern that they had discovered at the base of the waterfall. For the next month or so that would be where Cuaroc and their cargo, and most the eggs and eldunari would stay as Eragon, Arya and Murtagh, and perhaps any new riders, would parade Alagaesia to remind people of the riders and their legacy. Any time tomorrow Nasuada, Arya, Murtagh, Orik and Orrin should arrive. His excitement was bubbling over at seeing all his friends in one place for the first time in over a month.

Not only this, but this would bring about the official start of the new riders, Breoal Shur'tugal, and his return to Alagaesia. He wondered whether or not Angela would come too. He'd be interested to see whether or not her prediction about Alagaesia would be right.

As he flew on Saphira he watched the chain of elves running up the craggy rock towards the plateau. Saphira beat her wings twice and then descended through the water fall into the huge cavern, which was easily three time her size.

It was beautiful, filled with crystallites and some jewels, a natural treasury! It was strange to think that in the future Eragon would probably use these as storers of energy for future riders, that being if there were any. A small pond could be found, full of aquamarine water, towards the front of the vast cavern, which served not only as storage, but as dragon shelter, for now. Eragon, too, preferred the pounding of water on rock to the wind atop the sung trees on the craggy hill. The rock was fiery red in. Most places, although was often filled by a lighter pink granite sort of colour. This gave an impression of constant fire and daytime and light. The glint of the sun sparkled in the cavern and Eragon and Saern had decided they would use this as the final great hall, when, their final project, the dragon roost, was complete. This would be the final, and by far most difficult project for them, as it would be designed to hold 20 dragons at least. They would also connect the trees to the cavern, build a subtle bridge into the waterfall cavern, and connect numerous tunnel networks and caves. The natural defences in this area were brilliant. Firstly, it would seem a rather hidden settlement, secondly, they had a significant height advantage over their attackers, and, finally, there were large pools of water surrounding it.

Eragon hurled the bags off Saphira's back and muttered to soften his fall to the ground. He took the bags to the end of the room and piled all their stockpiled food on top of the rest of their remaining resources. He clambered onto Saphira's back and once again admired the beauty of the cave.

_"It looks slightly like thorn, bright red dazzling, and huge."_ Saphira shared with him mentally.

_"I see what you mean, but to me it is more of a sunset or sunrise, and I would attribute it to an orange dragon, rather than a red one."_ Eragon shared back.

She took off, quickly blasting through the waterfall and making the flight to the bottom of he crags, where Saphira and he had carried all their possessions over the last week. Now they were being sorted into piles and taken into different storage areas.

_"I am pleased with the result of our new home, Saphira."_

_"And I."_

_"Good. I was worried though, I had anxieties whilst dreaming of a terrible place."_

_"Child, you worry too much. Dragons, no, we don't."_ Saphira exclaimed proudly.

Eragon snorted. _"Dragons are too self-obsessed. Humans, we aren't."_

Saphira shook her head and shot out a hot burst of flames. _"Are you saying I shouldn't be."_ She let on a tone of danger underplaying her message.

Eragon laughed. _"Of course not."_

Eragon was surprised that Saphira never answered. He mentally probed her.

_"Look!"_ She shouted, indicating upwards. As he looked upwards he whooped for joy. A green spark raced across the sky.

Arya had arrived.

They shot through the sky towards her and Fírnen. The dragons encircled each other and Eragon called out.

"Arya!"

She looked calm, but he could see the excitement in her eyes. "Eragon."

"You were quick. We were expecting you tomorrow."

"I was more nearby than I had expected. On my adventure, you see." She winked.

Eragon's heart skipped a beat, and as the dragons landed he carried on, "Well? Would you like, to see it?" He asked her. She grinned.

He showed her around the surroundings at first, whilst the dragons flew in the air.

"And this, this is the waterfall. Behind it is our storage tower and where Saphira and I sleep. It's huge." He entered it with her in trail. He waved at one of the elves, "Hey Farlay." She waved back and they continued into the room.

"Wow," Arya said, "that's beautiful! How did you find it?"

Eragon smiled. He took her hand. "One of the elves wanted to examine the rock face behind the waterfall for Fanghur. Instead, we found this." He gestured at the whole cavern.

"We're there lots of Fanghur, because we had a lot on our way here."

"Tonnes. Fortunately we wiped them all out recently. We've started our next stage too. The singing of the trees. At the moment we have a small ring of 8 houses. The elves share a house with one or two others each. Some hold our more personal treasures, or our possessions."

She smiled at this. "And have you got anything made for the dragons."

_"Nice of you to think of me, Drottnïng_." Saphira piped in.

_"Yes, don't forget us dragons."_ Fírnen added.

"Yes, yes. Well, at the moment, the dragons can sleep in the cavern. There are also some other caves for dragons. This is the biggest cave, but it's the nicest and the hardest to see into. There's one on the other side at least ten times the size of Saphira." Eragon explained.

_"But it's less beautiful!"_ Saphira chimed. Arya laughed with her tinkling laugh. Eragon was reminded of all the good times he'd shared with her since becoming a rider.

_"Of course, Saphira Brightscales."_ She answered.

They walked in silence, uninterrupted even by the dragons for five minutes before they reached the tree houses. As they held hands Eragon picked up the familiar scent of crushed pine needles. Everything seemed to be coming together just fine.

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**Glossary**

Nyr Fyrstr - New beginnings

Shur'tugal - Dragon rider

Breoal Shur'tugal - The Home of the Dragon Riders.

Drottnïng - Queen

-Elda - respectful suffix

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**I hope you enjoyed it. This is my first Eragon fic, what did you think? Also if you want me to put a character you make into the story, just post a review explaining who they are. If I like one, I will put the character in. Please review telling me what you thought!**

**So enjoy! Also look out for my next chapter. If you prefer Percy Jackson, don't hate on this, read my story "Children of the Prophecy".**

**So follow, enjoy and REVIEW :)**


	2. The Strange Power

**Hey guys! I am very sorry that I have neglected this story for so long :( , but I was focusing on my other story, Children of the Prophecy, and also my PJO&amp; Harry Potter crossover. But, this story has made a return, and I promise I will update about every other week for at least another 3 or 4 chapters. But in the future I do have exams, so I might be taking a break... hopefully not as long as this though. Anyways, before I bore you all to death, read, enjoy and REVIEW! :) **

**Guest - Thanks!**

**Ancient Wolf - Awww to what? But thanks anyways!**

**RestrainedFreedom- This story starts 24 days after the end of Inheritance - so yeah, just over 3 weeks. Although, in the course of the first chapter I skip through over another four weeks. So in theory, chapter two is about 8 weeks after the end of Inheritance. And yes M&amp;T have returned!**

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**The Strange Power**

Of course, peace couldn't stay long at the party, because just then a red dragon dived at them from above, beating powerful gusts of wind onto them.

Eragon sighed, _"nice of you to make a quiet entry!"_ He yelled mentally.

_"No problem."_ Murtagh responded, and Eragon could sense the grin spreading across his mouth. Murtagh leapt down from Thorn and hit the ground running, encasing Eragon in a chest-crushing bear hug. After a couple of seconds he let go and withdrew.

"How are you, brother?" Murtagh asked, laughing at the disgust faintly painted onto Eragon's face.

"I was fine until you arrived," he smirked and dodged Murtagh's playful punch.

"Play nice, boys." Arya said, smiling softly.

Murtagh's powerful laugh boomed across the huge landscape, echoing off the waterfall. "Ah, yes," he said, bowing down and kissing her hand, "the lady, Queen of the Elves."

She rolled her eyes.

Suddenly Eragon noticed movement in the trees and he swiftly stepped forward drawing his sword. His paranoia was caused by all his days of chasing and being chased. He held his unwavering sword, Brisingr, high and right in front of him.

The thing that had emerged raised their hands.

"I mean no harm." A familiar voice said. Nasuada had arrived too.

Eragon sheathed Brisingr and bowed low, before getting up and hugging her warmly.

"How is everything?" he asked her quietly.

"It's becoming rather uneasy in all the cities. My soldiers are having to end more and more conflicts, and it won't be long before a civil war is started, I'm afraid," she sighed heavily, looking both tired and resigned. "It's about time that you and the riders parade; hopefully it'll calm people down a bit. Of course, Murtagh will be joining you."

Arya turned to Murtagh, "You returned?"

"Ah, I did, for my lady of course. It is why I brought her here on Thorn," he indicated towards his dragon who had risen and was darting through the sky in a ruby, sapphire and emerald kaleidoscope of colours.

Eragon continued, "But, Nasuada, surely they will be angry, since we have no new riders, they will think we are being power hungry and selfish?"

But she just smiled, a twinkle appearing in her eyes.

She turned and whispered in Arya's ear. Eragon wondered what all this madness was about. What had he missed?

Arya spoke now, instead of Nasuada. Her voice was soft against the relentless drumming of the waterfall on the frothing lake below, "I forgot to tell you, Eragon," she whispered, but didn't elaborate, but at least she was smiling. "No matter... NAAVIC! PRESENT YOURSELF!" Eragon wondered what on earth Naavic was, but by now was used to this element of mystery.

Out of nowhere an iridescent, opal dragon shot forward through the trees, barely big enough to fly yet, and below it, ran a small dwarf, head to toe in armour. "An egg hatched." she finished.

It was beautiful to see the pair bonding, like watching kids grow up nostalgically. As if in slow motion, they moved together and darted left and right through the clearing. The dragon was beautiful, made of hundreds of different colours, merged together, as if an artist had spilt a rainbow on it. Eragon couldn't properly see the dwarf through its armour, but he looked to be about 15, not yet an adult.

Eragon felt something powerful flood brought the clearing, and watched in awe as the pair continued towards the other side of the clearing. It was then that the dragon clipped its wing whilst dodging a tree and things went horribly wrong. It dipped and knocked into Naavic, the rider, who was sent sprawling over the knotted mesh of roots below. The dragon then spiralled out of control and the four adults had to jump out the way as it spiralled to earth and crashed into the earth with a colossal thump.

"Smooth entrance," Murtagh commented as Arya and Eragon ran to help. He joined Eragon, who was tending to the dragon.

"Are you okay?" Arya asked the dwarf boy. He looked at her and then at Eragon and nodded vivaciously. His hair was tousled, but it became worse as he stumbled to his feet to tend to his dragon. Eragon held out his arm to ensure that if the dragon became conscious suddenly, it would not hurt its rider accidentally. Eragon started tending to the dragon once again.

"But the dragon is not alright," Eragon muttered darkly. Dark blood was seeping out of one of its wings. Eragon shut his eyes and mumbled beneath his breath. Nothing happened, and the blood started forming pools underneath the dragons injured flap of skin.

Murtagh and Arya cast their own spells, but something was definitely wrong.

_"SAPHIRA!"_ Eragon hollered mentally. Things were definitely wrong. "Murtagh scout the area. Something's not right," Eragon ordered. He blocked his mind carefully and drew his sword, whilst setting spells over the area. He was starting to get worried. No answer from Saphira and all this was happening now. He started to feel weak after casting so many spells.

"What's happening?" Arya asked, gravely.

"No idea," he responded, "and Saphira isn't answering. Strange." He finished.

Now he was severely worried. He couldn't do anything to help the dragon as it lost far too much blood for his liking. He started to sway as he stood up. The dragon at his feet was dying and he had no way of saving it. Desperation flooded his body; _"HELP,"_ he screamed mentally, _"Please. Help."_

Nothing. He was alone, oppressed by the world, watching the future dragon of the riders die in front of his eyes. It was like a dream, hazy, as if he had no presence. He could do nothing, and he faded, he faded away until he disapp-

_"I am here, Eragon. What is it that you seek?"_ A deep voice resounded through his mind, force-feeding energy into Eragon, like a mother to her child.

Glaedr! Thank goodness. Eragon calmed down, drawing on Brisingr's energy and became stable on his feet. He could think clearly again, and told Glaedr of the problem.

"_Hmmm, this is bad news. Bad news indeed. First you must sort out the dragon, the spell you need is this: lgós endis myrkr, læ liøa. But make sure to say it loud and clear, and you will need some of brisingr's energy, I sense your weakness, and this spell is not for the weak."_ Glaedr answered calmly.

_"Thank you, Glaedr-elda,"_ Eragon answered. He seeped up almost as much energy as he could take from the pommel of his sapphire sword. In a loud voice he repeated Glaedr's spell.

"Lgós endis myrkr, læ liøa!" He yelled. Weakness spread through his body and he fell to the ground. His head hit the ground and his eyes shut.

_He was alone on the cavern floor. Braziers lined the floor all the way up the passageway, burning with blue flames. He felt a long way away, far from Alagæsia, in another Kingdom. Suddenly he heard a voice, but couldn't make out any words. He looked around, attempting to locate the source of the voice. But as hard as he looked he could find no source. As he sat there, listening to the booming of sounds, his hearing became more and more refined. And then suddenly, the words made sense._

_"Master, we have found the place. But it's far away, very far away." Someone mumbled nervously, stumbling over their words. The words echoed around the cavern numerous times hitting Eragon like a stone to the face._

_No voice answered, but the messenger continued speaking after a few seconds."It's bigger, yes. And as far as we know, it has insufficient defence. An easy battle. We will gain a lot of power out of it too." Nervousness ran through his voice, almost quivering._

_Once again, a silence elapsed before the voice continued to speak, "We are sure that no one or no thing will possess anything near your power, you will destroy the kingdom with ease, I assure you, master."_

_This time however, Eragon, or his presence travelled closer and closer so that he caught the last few words of the reply._

_"Kill them all." The voice radiated a numbing, but fierce power, as if it was made of leaden death. The voice struck Eragon and-_

"Wake up! Eragon!" Someone shook his shoulders hard. He opened his eyes and figures came into his view blearily. He closed them again, as his eyelids felt as if they were made of lead. Drowsiness seeped through his body and his ears tuned out the shouting until he descended into the darkness again.

Eragon woke up, slowly sat up and his eyes became adjusted to the light, which had flooded him at first. He looked around, and saw nothing but the lush trees spreading further and further outwards. He was not at his home and couldn't see any of his friends. He pulled his sword out and stood up slowly. He decided to take a look around. Having scanned the whole clearing, he appeared to be in a dense jungle. He put Brisingr away and sat down again, pondering what was happening. Once again he tried to comprehend the situation and attempted to find out who had accompanied him here.

_"Saphira?"_ He mentally probed against the trees, but got no response. _"SAPHIRA! Where are you?"_ He yelled.

No response. He scanned out with his mind and noticed a presence not so far away. He began to jog towards the presence and after ten minutes started hearing the signs of activity. Eragon drew his sword and preceded carefully towards a thick mesh of trees. After peering through, he could see nothing, so he continued through the jungle towards the sounds. Five minutes later he noticed that the sounds were becoming fainter and he retraced his steps. It was then when he noticed a flash of movement and he turned his eyes to the sky. What he saw was surprising- an opal dragon was trapped in the top of a tree and was thrashing about, attempting to release itself. Naavic's dragon.

Eragon immediately recited a spell and helped the dragon free itself, without killing itself and the tree whilst doing so. What on earth was Naavic's dragon doing here? Everything had moved so quickly. One moment he was having a reunion with his friends... And now... He was alone with a dragon he barely knew and had no idea where he was or why.

Eragon opened his mind to the dragon, attempting to converse with it; but the dragon's mind was going crazy, clearly traumatised by its' recent events. Or were they recent? Eragon had no idea how long it was since he fell asleep. A day? A month?

Another powerful wave of energy flooded him. Eragon had felt that before; just before the incident with Naavic and his dragon. _Not again. Please; not again_. Eragon cast numerous wards, protecting himself and the dragon against every threat he could think of. Eragon decided that this time he would be ready, no matter what. He cast his mind out as he drew as much energy as he could out of Brisingr's pommel - it's energy pool was starting to run low. He felt no other invasive forces anywhere near them; yet there was a background noise, almost like a faint buzzing, which bothered him. He was sure that this was the wave of force he had felt earlier, and when he was with his friends before the incident.

Suddenly he became aware of hundreds of hostile beings infringing on the edges of his mind. Fanghur. Eragon automatically turned to Saphira for help. But he was alone. He drew Brisingr, which burnt with a dazzling white light. Around him, orbs of fire grew, circling him faster and faster as he prepared to kill the beasts without being able to ride a dragon.

In his line of sight, a flying monster entered his field of vision. The Fanghur had arrived. And then, a man appeared before his eyes. And somehow, Eragon knew it was the man from his vision...

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**Bwahaha - yeah I left you on a cliffhanger... I am evil...**

**But seriously I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It is relatively short as opposed to my first one, because I felt like splitting this chapter in two, just to leave you on a cliffhanger... I told you that I was evil... **

**If you enjoyed it, and want to see more, REVIEW! If you want to see me do something, please review and I will accommodate your wishes as best I can... **

**:)**


	3. Muril Sargül

**Hey guys! Between my other stories and holidays and family I haven't updated this in forever! But I'm going to be regularly updating it from now on. Promise! Due to the fact that school starts up soon and it's a busy year, I'll be releasing a new chapter every 1-2 weeks, depending on how you guys review. The more you review the more I feel inspired to update! **

**So the long in the coming chapter 3 is here! Enjoy :)**

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**Muril Sargül**

Arya stood alone in the thick of a jungle. She lit a fire in her hand and lowered it to let it burn softly, hovering just millimetres above the ferny forest floor. She had created a small shelter for herself as she tried to work out where she was, or where her friends were. Thorn flew above the thick jungle canopy, where he searched for any signs of life, or any clues as to where they were. She scanned the jungle once more for any signs of life, but nothing extraordinary appeared in her mind. Once she almost felt as though something was there, but it had turned out to be a jungle jaguar. Still no signs of her friends.

It had all happened after Eragon had said the spell to heal Naavic's dragon, he had collapsed and been engulfed in fire all of a sudden. And when she ran over to help him, she reached over to him and- she couldn't remember anything but darkness after that. As far as she could tell, she woke up here straight afterwards and found Thorn. Wherever 'here' was anyway. All she knew was that they were all in trouble; there was dark magic being used here.

_"Found anything, Thorn?"_ Arya casted her mind out to him.

_"Only a few tasty animals,"_ came the gruff reply, between mouthfuls. Arya accepted this, disappointedly, as she had for the past two days. It could be worse, she thought, he could have found an enemy. That was the only positive she had seen yet.

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Arya felt uncomfortable flying on Thorn's back, but it was the quickest way to move. And Arya felt an urge to move right now. She had decided that if nothing was happening in the jungle, she had to get out. She didn't like being useless, especially when she knew they were in danger. She wanted to find Fírnen too, but had no idea where to look for any of them. So instead she let Thorn fly gently over the jungle, her ready to intercept any presence other than the odd creature scuffling down in the dense trees. Her senses as sharp as jagged knives, every interruption caused the hairs of the back of her neck to stand to attention.

Blood pounded in her ears, booming through her body like a ricocheting drum beat. The pounding noise got faster and faster, her thoughts becoming more and more ridiculous. She was worried, and her mind's concoctions of ideas were not helping settle her nerves. He could be dying, fighting or sleeping for what she knew. She wondered what that spell was... It had definitely been some sort of ancient power which made Eragon suddenly ignite into the flamboyant flares and flames. And she could tell it wasn't just her who was agitated by what had happened, but Thorn was irritated too. It was like an unscratched itch, and they both needed ways to vent their frustration. Thorn's was to attempt to set the whole area on fire, as he snorted flames every so often. The dazzling scarlet and crimson tones faded behind her, crackling in the lush canopies of the jungle.

_"Anything?"_ She asked Thorn, anxiously.

_"No. No sign of anyone. I just had a thought though, Arya. What if everybody else was separated too? That would mean that we are looking for just two others. Who else touched Eragon, do you know?_" Thorn answered in his deep voice.

_"Now you mention it Thorn,"_ Arya paused, _"that's probably what happened. And the only other person who touched Eragon before me was Saphira. But what does this all mean? And who is behind this all?"_

_"Now why would I know that? All I know is that Glaedr was extremely worried by Eragon's request. Seems like ancient magic is at work here."_ He concluded.

They fell into silence, engulfed by their thoughts and emotions. Arya was mostly consumed by her thoughts of the past. She drove through the past, through the lessons in the enchanted forest, trying to see if she could think of any force that this reminded her of. But none came to her, even as she searched frantically. For a long time she had attempted to forget the past, blot parts of her life out, as if willing hem out of existence could do that. And now, delving into her past she realised how stupid this had been. It almost felt good to accept it all, accept who she was, what she'd done, come to a better understanding of who she was.

Hours passed and then it hit Arya. The idea came out of nowhere as she nostalgically remembered her elven parents and their terrible relationship. She say bolt upright in the saddle and she remembered, relived the past. Her father and his elven court. The lords and lady's acting so pompously, getting ready for the war all those years ago. And she knew precisely who it was who was acting, but not what on earth he was doing. I knew my father shouldn't have trusted that brat. She thought angrily to herself and drive Thorn on, encouraged by the realisation of the danger at hand. Enraged, she started to draw wards up about herself, preparing for what was about to inevitably occur. She was ready to face her godfather, or the elven version of it anyway.

Thorn dived like a bullet, and Arya nearly fell out her seat, crying out loud as she smashed back into the saddle, bouncing up and down, eyes wide with terror. _"What is it Thorn?!" _Arya yelled in surprise.

_"Eragon." _Thorn replied grimly.

Eragon! Arya was worried, and excited. They had finally found him.

_"Who's he with, Thorn?"_ Arya asked tentatively, as she gripped on to his saddle properly. They were nearing the end of the dive, and as she looked around from underneath the clouds she noticed that there wasn't a tree in sight.

_"I can't tell, but it's not a friend!"_ Thorn yelled as he pulled his wings together and attacked a fanghur. Arya gasped, as she realised that there was a whole flock of fanghur all radiating towards the same spot. And then she noticed a stunningly bright light and a dazzling opal dragon prancing about near the centre of the Fanghur. Eragon. And next to him, was her godfather; Muril Sargül.

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**That was fun, hey! Hoping to ramp it up a bit soon! Hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to review! :)**


	4. The Light Fate

**As promised, it is here. But I got no reviews! Please review guys, it inspires me to write, and it'll make the chapters earlier I promise! Glossary at the bottom.**

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**The Light Fate**

Eragon swung round, hurling fireballs around him at the closest fanghur. He ran towards the man, who smiled, but did not move or say anything. Eragon continued to use his magic to kill all the beasts surrounding him, trapping him like a horde of men circling a wild boar. He struck them down with sudden wind shifts, hurled rocks at them and even stabbed the closest ones with his sword. But this was using up precious energy of his, and he knew from experience that he was going to need a lot of energy. What he really needed was Saphira, though, whom he knew could rip through the whole pack of fanghur solely with the aid of Eragon and Brisingr, no magic necessary.

Naavic's dragon was also attempting to cause some chaos, and so far had caught two fanghur, but more and more were surrounding her, and he could see she was being overwhelmed. A well placed flash sent the monsters scattering, fleeing into the azure dome above. Eragon made a decision, and continued towards the man from his vision. And from what he had heard in that vision, things were not all well. In fact things were terrible. The whole of Alagäesia was being threatened, and Eragon had to be there to stop it being invaded. Suddenly Eragon felt a tearing force in his mind, something which caused him to almost stumble, puncturing into the fabric of his mind. The acute pain filled his body and for a moment Eragon couldn't think at all. He regained control and immediately blocked this attempt to enter his mind, and the two entered a duel. Eragon continued slowly towards the man, but was often distracted by the fanghur around him. They wrestled with each other's minds, like two lion cubs fighting, one on top and then immediately switching, the other assaulting this time. Eragon felt his match for the first time in a while, and more energy of his was being wasted.

Eragon realised that he had no time for a duel right now, and pouring a little bit more energy out of the pommel of his sword, he wrestled the man off, and put up the strongest defences he could. Then he focused on the fanghur who were now all around him, land and air. He struck out with his mind, and soaked up the life energy in each and every fanghur within the proximity, allowing up it to strengthen him. An invisible dome around himself, he ran back through the falling fanghur, lifeless and limp, towards the man again. This time the man called out to him.

"Not too bad eh?" He laughed to himself. Suddenly Eragon felt the energy being sucked out of him. But this wasn't like what he and done to the fanghur, instead he felt dizzy and deluded, stumbling over the ground.

In his last seconds of sanity he remembered Glaedr's words and drawing all the strength out of his pommel, immediately yelled them, preparing to collapse.

"Lgós endis myrkr, læ liøa**!" He hollered, hoping that this would be his saving grace. Only with all the energy from the fanghur and the pommel did Eragon manage not to black out. Feeling dizzy still, he drew on the energy of a nearby fanghur and noticed the chaos his spell had created. All around him the fanghur were burning in a dazzling light. It was exquisite to the eye, watching the miniature suns fall, ablaze, towards the earth, like shooting stars. The man himself was in a kneeling position and seemed to not be able to look at the bright lights surrounding him. And he himself kept feeling stronger and stronger. He released a vast amount of energy into his pommel sapphire, as more and more energy was fed to him. Eragon started to walk over to the man, who had drawn up to his fall height, but looked a deathly white, face ashen and pale. His face began to fill with rage as he wobbled whilst standing. The ashen face began to fill up with a crimson hue, bruising his cheeks and nose before his forehead and chin.

Eragon checked his surroundings, making sure no one was sneaking up on him. Then he took every caution in making Naavic's dragon safe and making wards. The silence was broken by Eragon's crisp tone, "May I ask you who you are and what you your business here is?"

"I," the man growled under his breath, "am the bringer of the Lag Ljóssr*, an ancient race who's powers I have commanded for centuries now. " He ended the sentence triumphantly, dramatically flinging his arms into the air. "But my business is simple: to destroy the feeble kingdom, Alagæsia!"

Eragon had to give it to the man, he had a dramatical air about him, but Eragon sensed a cocky attitude underneath the proud surface. "Well, bringer of the ancient race, stop wobbling and we can duel. Then we will see who's feeble, eh?" Eragon smirked with a twitch of his lips.

Eragon did not like the way a knowing smile crept on to the man's face slowly but surely. "Don't worry, we can fight if you so like. But you are armed with a sword," he gestured towards Brisingr, "be a man and let me arm myself!"

Eragon merely nodded, and the man drew out a long curved sword, virtually transparent, but sparkling in the brightness of Brisingr. It resembled a carefully crafted piece of twisted diamond, curved into a magnificent point. It's hilt was made of the same material too, and there were no engravings or marking on it at all. Light flashed past Eragon and he was quick to duck under the wild swipe; a test of his abilities. Brisingr ahead of him, Eragon flicked his sword to and fro, controlling the show. There was no real fight yet, more an attempt to scare the other person into submission. The first real attack was made by Eragon, lunging right into the man, who stepped aside and commenced with a series of powerful strokes and parries. The man was at ease, using the pointed edge to slide off of Brisingr easily, and deflecting it powerfully. Suddenly they locked in a match of brute force, each attempting to push the other's swords away. Eragon watched on as the curved killing machine grew, becoming longer. At the end of the new sword was a dark point, and it was cruising into Eragon's stomach. The excruciating pain grew bit by bit. Blood oozed out of his body and he weakened. Every spell or ward he had made was broken. He couldn't speak and the man was now trying to make him give up from the inside out through his mind. _The daring of someone to make someone else be valiant, when that person then goes and backstabbing him..._

Eragon started to fade; not just his mind either, his body was literally fading into thin air, as if going to another dimension. In his last seconds he tried the spell Glaedr told him, but it was absorbed by the darkness in the man's swords, which was growing throughout the crystal material. The ebony marbles glowed through the transparent edges of the sword. Eragon had no idea what was going on, but by now thoughts were getting lost in his mind.

Sensing that Eragon was nearly gone, the man looked him in the eyes. Eragon saw evil in the eyes; but more importantly, he saw jet black and the reflection of his body, nearly completely gone. In a soft, but harsh tone, the man spoke. "You never asked my name boy. Typical - no manners these days." He laughed softly. He leant in, "I am Muril Surgül."

Eragon's eyes widened and in the man's triumphant eyes, though his own body, he saw a green glint, and then nothing.

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**Glossary**

***Lag Ljóssr** = The Clear Fate

****Lgós endis myrkr, læ liøa** = Let the light end darkness, stop the destruction!

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**I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I tried to make it as suspenseful as possible. Now, I'm going to have a quest with Eragon and Saphira later in, but they need a companion. You can choose any elf/dwarf/human/urgal and/or any dragon that has been met so far in the fic! Choose in the review section below! It's up to you. Read, enjoy and review :)**


	5. Meeting Muril and his Lost Army

**Hey guys, again I actually made it on time! :o**

**Also if you haven't already check out my other story, colliding world's, which I just started, it's getting good I promise!**

**I promise that next chapter will be up within a week!**

**so many promises...**

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**fredo747 - glad you are liking it, and thanks for voting! Esterni to you too!**

**guest - thanks for voting, please keep reading and I hope you enjoy it!**

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**The vote is currently tied, but that's ok because you have a little bit more time to make up your mind! Read, enjoy and review!**

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**Meeting Muril and his Lost Army**

Arya dove down towards Eragon and her uncle, Muril, her supposed-long-dead uncle-now-turned-evil. Arya didn't know too much about her uncle, other than he was far more mischievous than her dad, and because he was younger, never got to rule either. And Arya wouldn't be surprised if he was back for her dad's crown. As she drew nearer she still couldn't see Eragon. Anxiety hit her like a tonne of bricks, a weight over her body. _No. Please, no._ The drama of the past few days were released through her body. Anxiety, anger, frustration, having been penned up for so long, rushed through her body.

Then her uncle noticed her sudden appearance. He was kneeling, but stood up to greet her, and as she landed, he looked like a toy soldier, standing to attention beneath her dragon. A smile tugged at his mouth, and he held a very long, malicious looking sword in his hand. As she watched, it seemed alive, as though a black snake were trapped inside a diamond casing. What on earth it was was, she couldn't tell.

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"I believe that I haven't officially addressed my niece for over 100 years. And we haven't met since you were still a child." He bowed respectfully to her as were the norms of elvish customs. "And... I see; you are now Drottnïng Arya." He finished, bowing ever more deeply. Then to add insult to injury, he added "Whatever happened to your parents?"

Barely controlling herself, Arya answered in her sweetest voice; "And you are?"

Muril chuckled playfully, and continued, "I won't answer that, darling. I see your father's hostile feelings towards me are hereditary. I won't bother with holding back any awkward or gruesome details then. Fair?" He sniggered, enjoying his game of cat and mouse.

A short intake of breath, then Arya answered, "Where have you been staying?" She asked, voice monotone. "_Muril_." She added, distaste filling her mouth. A bitter tension lingered past the awkward reunion, infused in the air. A chill spread throughout her body, pricking the back of her neck, hairs like men standing to attention.

"The past does not matter, Arya. Need I remind you?" He spoke slowly but purposefully. Arya winced but let him continue. "But the future does matter. And then, I will be staying in Alagæsia." He paused, and then with a subtle undertone of irony, "With _your_ crown on _my_ head. The question is, Arya, whether you will join me in my quest, or whether you will stubbornly side with your parents. The latter of course, will find yourself dead along with anyone else in Alagæsia who doesn't cooperate. And the first of those, was your friend who never introduced himself."

Arya failed to hide her emotions this time. She gasped momentarily then closed her mouth, eyes narrowing, shooting daggers at his heart. _"ERAGON!"_ She yelled. She was surprised when he answered, but he felt distant, yet his presence was here...

_"Arya."_

"I banished him into myrkrheimr, where his body no longer exists. The same fate awaits you, after I take you to Ur'baen!" Muril interrupted. He grinned toothily.

Arya raised angrily. A fireball rocketed towards Muril from her hand. Catching it, he drew his sword swiftly, and without hesitation drove it towards her heart. Arya leapt over it and kicking his legs from beneath him, held him at the edge of her sword. Then the mental onslaught ensued, tumbling over each mind, trying to force the other one into submission. In a matter of seconds, he was pinned down both mentally and physically, Muril was cornered.

"I suppose you don't get enough practice without my father." Arya teased.

He narrowed his eyes, "Your father had other weaknesses. As I'm sure you'll know. Painfully." He smiled at her falsely. He snapped his fingers and Arya heard a roar. Guttural, it rolled throughout the surrounding hills, pugnaciously. Arya turned round slowly, filled with dread. Could the rumours really be true? She had doubted them all her life, but now more than ever wished she knew more about her uncle.

On the horizon, Arya could make out a tangerine coloured dragon, a stark contrast to the surrounding greens of the hills and dull greys of the skies, and matched the smears of colour smudged over the sky. Even from far away, Arya could tell that it was giant. "Menün." She muttered.

In that instant, Muril turned the tables and Arya fell over cowering under her uncle. "Well, you seem to have no choice but to come with me to Ur'baen on Menün. If you don't cooperate, you can be used as part of the victory parade. Dead."

Thorn looked on in horror at the approach of a dragon over ten times his size. Arya spoke to him softly, _"Help Eragon stop my uncle, and find Murtagh. Remember, find his weak point." _She finished sadly.

"I'm coming." She said to her uncle, resigned to failure. As they stood up to leave Arya heard a choke followed by some coughing. She used this as her distraction. Whirling around she punched her surprised uncle square in the nose and then drew her blade. Without hesitation she attacked his mind viciously, searching for a gap in his mental defences. Drilling her way into his skill she found his memories and searched for the plan that he had formed to take Alagæsia.

Suddenly she drew a sharp breath and let her sword drop from his throat. The gasp lasted momentarily as Muril grabbed her throat and turned her round to the sight of his colossal dragon landing. On the lasts seconds before she left, she mentally yelled in desperation to Eragon.

_"Tell Glaedr that they've arrived. Glaedr will know how to stop them."_

_"Who?"_ Eragon answered weakly.

_"The Lost Army."_ She ended.

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**Thanks for reading guys! Hope you enjoyed it, don't forget to leave your opinion below, and if you have any suggestions for what I should do leave them below too! Comment on what character you want to accompany Eragon and Saphira on their quest! :)**

**Be back in a week's time, and hopefully your reviews will speed that process up!**


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